Jack and Not Jill
by TheGrayWitch
Summary: Alyss is a lost cause. She get's into fights and doesn't get along with  anyone else. It's the same routine to her when Evelyn adopts her. But that changes when she meets Jack and finds out that his past is like hers. Will she fall for him? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: New Beginings, Old Routine

**Chapter One**

**~Alyss~**

"Get offa me!" I snarled, trying to crawl away. The boy straddling my back laughed excitedly.

"Whatcha gonna do for me, chica?" He asked, leaning closer so I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Ya gonna apologize?"

I snorted. Even on my stomach, in the snow, with bruises, I was as stubborn as a _burro_. "For calling you a lazy pig? Sorry, Rico, I was taught not to apologize for telling the truth," My reward was getting my long dark brown hair pulled.

"Sorry, chica didn't quite hear that," Rico sneered. "Could you say that again?"

"I'm…." I rasped.

"_Si_?"

"I'm sorry that…"

"Go on,"

I twisted so I could grin up at him. "…that you're such an asshat," I would have said more if it were for the fact my face got shoved into the snow. I snarled to myself as my hand enclosed itself onto some snow, a tiny plan formulating in my head. I felt him lean closer to me to whisper "Wrong answer, chica. Wanna try that again?"

Thanks to the fact he wasn't holding m arms down, I was able to flip over and shove the snowball I had made one-handed into his face. Rico fell back in shock and that allowed me enough room to slide out one leg and shove the heel of my beat-up, black classic converse where it would hurt worse. The guy was not getting up for a while. I smirked as got up and ran as far away as I could before he could even try crawling. I was around the corner when I stopped to catch my breath, laughing so hard it hurt. Rico and I have been butting heads since I became part of the foster care system. It started with him, this big twelve year old Spanish dude, trying to shove little ten year old me around. Idiot didn't realize I bit back. Literally! We've hated each other ever since. I walked down the street to the main foster care building, still giggling excitedly. I always won our little one-on-one battles. He rarely brought anyone with him in fear of people finding out he gets the crap beaten by a girl whose only 5'2''!

The thought made me smile as I walked through the door and heard my name.

"Alyssanna! Alyssanna, is that you?" a rather annoying, stern voice called from the den.

I groaned and stayed silent. Please don't…

"I heard that! Get in here!"

I snarled internally. "Hyper-sensitive bitch…" I breathed as I hung my thick jacket onto the hook and stepped into the den.

**=Jack=**

Jack Mercer was sitting in the den of a foster care home with his mother. Jerry was watching the girls and couldn't come. The other two just didn't want to be a part of it. To be honest, this place made uncomfortable and he just wanted to get the fuck outta there. But Evelyn had gotten a call from one of the staff there, saying there was another lost cause. Hopefully she could find him a new home quick, before things got ugly at home. He figured it was a "him" because most girls actually made it more than boys. Boys from fucked up lives were more rowdy and people didn't want them.

Evelyn and one of the staff, Lisa was her name, were talking. He wasn't even really listening. He just stared out one of the windows, watching the snow. He heard the door open and close and wondered if it was their new delinquent.

"Alyssanna! Alyssanna, is that you?" Lisa called, using an awfully stern voice.

Alyssanna? Jack thought. Sounds like a chick's name. He grew confused. Was their new addition really a girl?

There was a small groan and then silence.

"I heard that!" Lisa snarled. "Get in here!"

He heard someone whisper "Hyper-sensitive bitch…" as a girl came in and leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.

She wasn't tall, maybe around 5'2". Her dark hair was long and straight and since it was down, he could sort of see that it fell just slightly past her ass. She had a curvy figure and a trim waistline. Her almond shaped, chocolate brown eyes looked him and his mother, her full lips twitching slightly. She clearly didn't want to be here. Her clothes were a black button up blouse, black pants and black gauntlets with buckles. The classic converse she wore barely peeked out from under her too-long pants.

Jack recognized her from school. She was a new sophomore this year, meaning she was about two years younger than he was. He'd never talked to her nor did he know much about her at all. Rumor had it that she was a trouble maker that came to Detroit with some other kids at the beginning of the year because she killed someone. Seeing her up close, Jack couldn't believe this tiny thing could pack much of a punch. He always took rumors with a grain of salt but she always kept to herself and never really hung out with anyone. He never saw her wander about the school except during the little breaks between classes. She always seemed to never really be around.

Lisa glared at the girl, who just glared back. After a few moments of silence, the girl said in a flat tone "You wanted something?"

"Yes, could you sit down please?" Lisa said. Jack could hear strained politeness in both their voices. So these two hated each other, eh?

The girl looked at the remaining chair next to Lisa and said "I'd rather stand,"

Lisa mouth twitched. "Now, now, Alyss," she said in an almost sickly sweet sort of way. "You wouldn't want to be rude to our guests, would you?

Alyss' eyes narrowed. "Standing isn't rude,"

"But it's a little hard for Ms. Evelyn to see you all the way over there. And she's come so far just to see you," Lisa gave Alyss a look that meant business.

Alyss glared at the woman as she carefully stepped into the den and slowly sat into the chair.

"Now that's better, isn't it?"

Alyss "humphed" and stared on the opposite direction.

Lisa sighed. "Evelyn, this is Alyssanna Cromwel-" the girl in question twitched at her full name "-our new arrival. She's been here for a few months but things haven't quite worked out, have they, Alyss?"

Alyss stayed silent, looking away.

"Alyss," Lisa growled.

"Yeah, sure," She answered in a clipped tone. "Can I go now? I promised Lexi I'd play with her,"

"But you haven't even said two words to this woman! She's here to take you in,"

"Doubt that'll last…"

Lisa smacked her upside the head and Jack couldn't help but wonder what this girl's problem was. She acted as if she'd been adopted before. It was possible. He'd been bounced from family to family many times before meeting Evelyn. He'd had the same attitude when he first met Evelyn but after she caught him with his pockets all full and tried to impress on him what it means to be adopted. He changed that tune real quick. If this girl stayed long enough, she would too.

Alyss flinched when she got smacked but didn't hit back. Actually, she just sat back and sighed. "Fine," she breathed.

Lisa nodded. "Now I'm going to leave you alone while I get some paper work for you, Ms. Evelyn," As she left, she shot Alyss a glare, which she ignored. There was a long pause when the woman left. Jack and Evelyn sat there in silence, waiting for the girl to speak. She looked down at her gauntlets, playing with one of the buckles.

Finally, Evelyn decided to make the first move. "How old are you, dear?"

Alyss looked up a little to answer shyly "Sixteen,"

"Do you go to the local highschool?" Evelyn asked, glad to have her speaking.

She nodded. "I'm a sophomore,"

"So you go with my son, Jack,"

Alyss titled her head in confusion. "Jack?"

Jack raised his hand to get her attention. "You're in my Spanish and English class,"

"Oh," Alyss said, biting her lip sheepishly. "Thought you seemed familiar. Sorry, I still have really gotten to know anybody yet,"

"You haven't?" Evelyn asked. "Why not? You seem like a nice girl,"

She chewed on her lip uncomfortably. "I…just don't…get along with people well, I guess,"

"I see," Evelyn said, almost to herself. "Well, you'll get along just fine in our house,"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. He didn't really like the thought of this girl living with him and his family.

Evelyn noticed and sighed then looked back to Alyss. "So what are you interested in?"

Alyss ran her fingers through her hair and Jack noticed her nails were long and uneven. Each nail was a different length.

"Well, I'm a pretty good writer. Kind of why I'm in the senior class," She said.

"Hey, kid," Jack said, looking a little curious.

"Hmmm?"

"What are you doing here, anyways? I mean, ya don't see a lot of lost causes who are girls,"

Alyss twitched again. "Ummm….well, uh, ya see…"

"Sorry it took so long," Lisa chimed in sweetly, holding lots of papers for Evelyn to fill out. She placed the papers on the coffee table that sat between all of them. As Evelyn filled out the papers, Jack noticed Alyss was looking away again. But instead of looking away in boredom or annoyance, she looked nervous.

"Alright, you're all set," Lisa said a little too perkily. "Alyss, why don't you go pack up your stuff?"

The girl looked back at her outraged. "NOW?"

"Yes, now. So you can leave and get settled with your new family,"

"Bu-bu-but-"

"But what?" Lisa asked, looking annoyed.

Alyss frowned and said "I promised Lexi I'd finish reading _Coraline_ to her. We only have three chapters left and that's the only way she sleeps,"

"Someone else can read her to bed, now go,"

"But-"

"Go!" Lisa pointed up towards the stairs to emphasize her point.

Alyss scowled at the woman as she got up and trudged up the stairs. Jack wondered who this Lexi person was and why she meant so much to this girl.

**~Alyss~**

The moment I got out of the den, a little excited squeal greeted me and I was almost knocked over by a little girl trying to hug me.

"Alyss! You're home!" she squeaked, happy to see me.

I hugged her back and said in a slightly hollow voice "Yeah…I'm home,"

The little girl was about half my height, with dark blonde hair that fell in ringlets. Her eyes were round and bright sky blue and she had fair skin.

"You gonna read _Coraline_ to me?" she asked as she followed me up to my room.

I swallowed. "Sorry, honey. Mean old Lisa's sending me away again,"

Her eyes grew round and her mouth flopped open. "Why?" she whined.

"Cause she's mean that way. Doesn't get that I have all the family I need right here," I bent down and picked her up, hugging her close. "C'mon. You can help me pack,"

"Okay," she mumbled without enthusiasm.

We went into my attic bedroom and I set her down on the single bed before I fished out me duffle bag and suit case from the closet. There was a knock and I looked up to see Jack standing in my doorway.

"Hey, uh, Ma wanted me to help you pack, if you don't mind," He said, looking a little uncomfortable.

I nodded. "Sure, thanks. Could you put the books off the shelf and fit them into the suit case as best as you can? Whatever won't fit in there I'll stuff in my duffle bag," He nodded and went to the bookshelf. He raised his eyebrow at the amount but then shrugged and carefully put them in the suit case. I went to my dresser and stuffed my clothes into it. After that I dug a small box of personal items out of the closet and put that in too. I help Jack pack the rest of my books and zipped my duffle bag shut.

"Why do you have to go, Alyss?" Lexi whined as she hugged my huge, thick wolf blanket close to her.

I sighed as I snagged my Jack Skellington messenger bag and stuffed my laptop into in along with I book I was reading. "Ask Lisa. But don't worry, I'll be back soon,"

"Promise?" she held out her pinky for me.

I smiled, hoisted the bag onto my shoulder and curled my pinky around hers. "Promise and to prove it – " I reached over behind her and snagged an old rabbit plushie dressed in a waist coat and carrying a fake watch from behind her. " – I'll give you a mission. I need you to take care of Rabbit for me. Can you do that?"She nodded and took the rabbit from me and I snagged the blanket then folded it over my arm. "Take care of him for me and don't fall into rabbit holes!"

Lexi giggled and nodded. I followed Jack who snagged my duffle bag and suitcase out of my room and back down stairs.

"Why'd you tell her not to fall in rabbit holes?" he asked, confused.

I laughed. "Cause I read _Alice in Wonderland_ to her and she loved it to death. Swears up and down she'll find the White Rabbit and follow him,"

Jack laughed at that. I smiled. His laugh was nice. Deep but comforting. He was pretty good looking too. Then I blushed and shook my head when he wasn't looking. No going after guys, Alyss. Never a good sign. I sighed to myself and followed Jack into the umpteenth house I'd be staying out. However, I wasn't aware how different it would be this time.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hi there! Hope you like this. I've had the idea in my head for a while but was too nervous to post it. Please reveiw and tell me what you think! sorry about all the grammatical errors if there are any ^o^" Enjoy!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	2. Chapter 2: Icebreaker

**Chapter Two**

**=Jack=**

Jack sat in the back with Alyss, who was watching the world go by in the window. He wanted to ask her something but not in front of his mom. He remembered her voicing her doubts about and he wanted to know why. He'd lived with Evelyn for so long it was hard to imagine the idea of her failing at being a mother.

Finally the time arrive when Evelyn dropped them off at the house. "Help her unpack, okay Jackie. Bobby isn't home yet and neither is Angel,"

"'Kay, Ma," he told her as he grabbed for the suitcase and duffle bag.

Evelyn smiled then turned her attention to Alyss. "Just make yourself at home, okay, hun?"

Alyss smiled slightly and nodded. Evelyn gave her and Jack a hug before getting back into the car and driving off the take care of some errands. Jack sighed and dragged the girl's luggage up to the house. She followed him inside. He went up stairs and put the luggage on the bed in the guest bedroom. It had a bed with a nightstand next to it in the corner, a desk against the opposite wall, a dresser on another corner and a bookshelf next to the doorway.

"Evelyn heard you liked books so she got the bookshelf for ya," Jack told her.

Alyss stood in the door way holding the blanket and still caring the bag on her shoulder. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Jack looked up at her, confused. "What?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, not use to people acknowledging my bookwormy-ness," She crossed the threshold and put her blanket and bag on the bed.

Jack leaned against the edge of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you so surprised?"

Alyss shrugged. "Nobody does that sort of thing for me,"

He eyed her for a moment. "Just to let you know, Evelyn's a good person. Hell, she's the sweetest woman in the goddamn world. Remember that,"

She shrugged again and started unpacking her clothes and putting them in a dresser. Jack shook his head and went out of the room.

**~Alyss~**

I watched Jack leave and went back to my unpacking. After I put all my clothes into the dresser, I made the bed by spreading the blanket over it and smoothing out the wrinkles. It was a large blanket, meant for a queen bed while this was a twin so a lot hung off the edge. Once my bed was made, I started to put away my books. I was anal and slightly OCD about my books, meaning I had to have them a certain way and no one else could put them in such order. I set the books on the shelves according to age rating and then placed them in certain genres within that setting. Younger books like Coraline and Alice in Wonderland were towards the bottom. My Anne Rice and other mature reads were towards the top.

I was putting the last book in when I heard the front door open, followed by the sounds of lot's of feet. Then there was the sound of a set of feet coming. Jack poked his head into my room just as I was closing the luggage and putting them in the closet.

"Hey, Evelyn says to come down. She wants you to meet the family,"

"'Kay, I'll be right down," I told him. He nodded and went back out. I took a deep breath and smoothed out my shirt, a habit I always followed when I wanted to make an okay impression. Not that it would matter in the long run, right? I went downstairs to see Evelyn, Jack, and three other guys. One was white and the other two were black. Colorful family. That raised some hopes, annoyingly enough.

Evelyn smiled. "Alyss, I'd like you to meet my sons. You've met Jack. And this is Bobby, Angel and Jeremiah,"

I smiled and shook hands with each one, besides Jack of course. They all shook my hand, Jeremiah being the more enthusiastic one of them all. After introductions were made, Evelyn called for dinner to be served. Everyone sat at the table, with me in between Jack and Evelyn on the side. I mumbled "amen" to myself when grace was said, feeling a little awkward and everyone dug in.

"So," Evelyn said after a few bites. "What do you think of the room?"

I did a slight double-take. "Oh! Umm, I like it. Thanks for the bookshelf,"

Evelyn smiled sweetly. "No problem, dear. Lisa told about your little 'obsession', as she put it,"

I snorted. "That's putting it mildly," I muttered. I heard Evelyn and Jack chuckle at that.

"So, what do you read?"

"Well, a little bit of everything, I guess. Except for horror, to a point. I'll read R.L Stine, unless it has anything to do with dolls, but I don't dare touch any Stephen King,"

Jack look confused, a look I was getting used to. "Wait, you don't like dolls? I thought all girls did,"

"Not me," I grimaced and shuddered at the thought. "I can't stand the little buggers. They creep the hell outta me,"

Jeremiah laughed. "Guess you wouldn't want to come over and babysit my little girls then. They love dolls,"

I shrugged. "Barbie dolls I can handle. Porcelain and baby dolls on the other hand…well, just keep them away from me,"

"Why, what do you do to them?" Bobby asked, probably thinking I was joking.

Without missing a beat, I said "Throw 'em into the barbeque,"

There was silence for two seconds then the whole table erupted in laughter. I couldn't help but laugh a little myself. It just felt right.

Angel got enough control of himself enough to say "You know what kid, you're alright,"

I cracked a smile. "Glad to hear it,"

Dinner progressed like that. The ice was broken and conversation was more open then I was used to. Everyone asked me questions about me, I guess so they could get a good idea of what I was like. I was laughing hysterically at the looks all the guys gave me when I said I don't understand most sports, including hockey.

"Okay," Bobby said, pointing his fork at me. "Tomorrow's a weekend, right?"

I nodded.

"Then we are going to teach you hockey. No girl's gonna be living here without knowing some hockey,"

I winced. "Did I mention there's not a single athletic bone in my body?"

Jack laughed. "I've seen you run. If you're that quick on the ice, you should be fine,"

I shuddered. I'd ice skated once. Didn't go so well. "Tuh-rrific,"

Evelyn just smiled. "You'll do great,"

"You haven't seen me try to play sports. It's not pretty,"

I just got laughs from that. Crap, I am dead tomorrow.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello! Hope you guys like this chapter :) next one's gonna be oodles of fun! Time to hit the ice! But if you guy don't reveiw, it won't come. So, reveiw! all it take is a minute at least!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now


	3. Chapter 3: Hockey Lessons

**Chapter Three**

**~Alyss~**

Ah, sleep. How I've missed you. And this was the comfiest bed I'd slept on in years! So good that even when I woke up to see sun shining out my window, I just rolled over and went back to sleep. Unfortunately, somebody had bigger plans for me. Make that three somebodies.

"Hey, Alyss!" Bobby shouted from the other side of my door, banging on it so loud I expected it to get knocked off the hinges. "Wake up! Time to hit the ice!"

I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head. "Go away…." I mumbled into the pillow.

"Not a chance!" This time it was Jack. Either the guy's got bat sonar or I wasn't as quiet as I thought. "C'mon! Little hockey won't hurt ya!"

"So says you!" I shouted back. "You'll see! I'm the crappiest player in the freaking world!"

"Not when we're done with ya!" Bobby that time.

"What going on?"

Yes! There is a goddess!

"Just trying to get Alyss up, Ma," Angel answered. "We need to get to the rink before the other punks do,"

"Cut the girl some slack. It's only her second day," Thank you, Evelyn! I'm really starting to like this woman. "Why don't you boys get some breakfast?"

"But, Ma –"

"Go," It didn't sound too stern but I could imagine the boys couldn't say no. I heard three sets of feet shuffle from the hall. A grin spread across my face and I was about to attempt sleep again when there was a quiet little knock. At my door. Oh, crap.

"Alyss? May I come in?" said Evelyn. I grimaced but I knew I couldn't say no.

"Sure," I replied as I dragged myself out from under my pillow and sat up. Evelyn quietly shuffled in and smiled at me.

"Have a good sleep?"

I nodded, smiling a little.

Evelyn smiled back as she came to sit on the bed next to me. "Glad to hear it. So, I hear the boys want to take you to the rink to play hockey?"

I winced. "I guess so,"

"Why that sounds like a lovely idea!"

I frowned. "Unless you can't skate worth crap,"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just have fun with it. Besides, you might as well get over with now, right?" She actually looked sympathetic at that.

I nodded. "I guess. Alright, tell them I'll be down in a sec. Don't want to play in my pjs, right?"

Evelyn laughed and nodded as she left the room. I sighed. Oh yes, there is a goddess, alright and she has a sick sense of humour.

**=Jack=**

Jack was enjoying breakfast with Bobby and Angel when Evelyn came down.

"Now, boys, she's agreed to play but you'll need to be nice. According to her, she can't skate very well,"

"Well, we'll just have to teach her, won't we guys?" said Bobby, grinning.

Jack cracked a smile at that. He knew Bobby way too damn well to think he was gonna play nice. Even if this was a girl.

Evelyn leveled him with a look. "Bobby, be nice. Don't want to scare the poor girl away, right?" Bobby just sat there, quietly eating his breakfast. "Right?"

"Yea, sure, Ma. She won't get too banged up," Bobby said, grinning. Jack rolled his eyes and went back to his food.

"What about getting banged up?" Jack looked up to see Alyss leaning against the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed over her chest.

"Eh, don't worry about it, kid!" said Bobby, trying to making it sound not as bad as it really was. "You'll be just fine. Hardly a scratch on ya,"

Alyss raised her eyebrow at that. "Uh-huh. Right. Next you'll be telling me you've met the Easter Bunny, right?"

Jack and Angel laughed at that. Bobby stewed there for a moment.

"Look, are you gonna play or are you gonna wimp out on us?"

Alyss yawned as she went into the kitchen for breakfast. "I'll play but it won't be pretty. Ten to one, I'll end up taking you guys down with me,"

"Doubt that," muttered Jack.

"Oh, believe me," she said as she sat at the table with a bowl of cereal. "I've done it before. Went skating with a couple friends back home. Not two seconds on the ice, I slip and take down five guys like dominos. Hurt like hell but it was probably just as funny to watch,"

Everyone snickered at that.

"Well, don't worry," said Jack, trying to make her feel better. "Bet you couldn't drag us down even if you tried,"

She shrugged. "We'll see,"

The car ride was quiet. Bobby was driving and Angel took shotgun which left Alyss and Jack in the back. Apparently the poor girl was more nervous than she let on. Sometimes, Jack would look over and see her staring out the window, chewing on the side of her thumb. For some odd reason, he had the urge to grab that hand and tell her it was alright. There was something about this girl that made him want to protect her. Maybe cause she's a foster kid? He didn't have a clue.

They arrived at the rink which was quiet. Nobody was in sight. Perfect.

"Alright, kid. Ready?" Bobby asked.

"No," Alyss groaned.

"Well, better be soon cause you ain't getting out of it," Everyone started to pile out.

"If there's a god, he hates me…" Jack heard Alyss mutter. He smiled as he got out and grabbed his ice skates and hockey stick from the back.

"Here," He handed Alyss the pair she'd be using. They were his old pair with surprisingly fit her feet. "Just keep your balance and you'll be fine,"

"How can I keep what I don't have?"She asked him, taking the skates and trudging to the rink. He just laughed.

The guys quickly got on their skates and got on the ice in no time. Alyss stayed back at the entrance of the rink, staring at the ice like it was gonna swallow her up.

"It ain't gonna hurt ya!" Jack shouted at her. "Just keep your balance,"

"I repeat: I don't HAVE balance!" She shouted back.

"We'll just drag you in if you don't cooperate!" Angel told her.

She groaned and gingerly stepped one foot onto the ice. After getting her footing right, she balanced herself with the wall and tried to get the other foot onto the ice. It slipped and she would have fallen right on her ass if she hadn't gripped the wall there. Bobby and Angel started howling with laughter as Jack, who couldn't help but chuckle a bit, skated over to her.

"Need a hand?" He said as he offered her his hand. She nodded and grabbed his hand so he could pull her up. She was surprisingly light. "Got it?" he asked when she was standing upright.

She nodded and let go of his hand. "I think so," she mumbled.

"Trying just moving a little bit, get the feel of it,"

"Um, okay," She muttered and inched forward a little.

"There ya go!" He grinned. She smiled slightly and tried to move a little forward again. Her foot slipped and she started to fall again. This time she didn't have a wall to grab, she had Jack and he wasn't as sturdy as the wall. She grabbed the front of his hoodie, accidentally pulling him on top of her as they fell.

"Oof! You okay?" He asked, looking up at her face. His face was about a centimeter away from hers. He'd almost kissed her!

She blushed slightly and nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that,"

He could help but laugh. "It's okay. No blood, no foul," He helped and her and this time he kept close to her, ready to catch her if she fell again. Alyss wobbled slightly and almost fell several times before she got to where Bobby and Angel were.

"Finally! Thought you'd never get here," Bobby snickered. "Now, time for the real lesson," He tossed her the hockey stick and started explaining the rules. "If you need to, shove 'em as hard as you can or whack 'em with a stick,"

"Alright. I think I'm getting it,"

"Good," He dropped the puck in between. "Let's play a little game to see if you really got it. Jack, you help her out. Angel, stick with me,"

**~Alyss~**

Gulp. Not good.

Jack must have noticed and said. "Don't worry. I got your back,"

I just nodded and scooted up to the puck.

Bobby started the countdown. "One…two…three!" As he said three, I swung my stick and whacked the puck away. I got a rhythm going with my feet as I dribbled the puck to the goal. Then Bobby came by and rammed me right into the wall. I fell to the ground and glared as he swiped the puck and started to go the other end. Evil thoughts formed in my brain and they fueled me to get up and zip over to him. Just as he was about to hit the puck into the goal, I zoomed in and stole it.

"Nice!" Jack exclaimed as I zipped by to the other side. I grinned to myself as I zipped and dodge Bobby and Angel every time they tried to ram me. Jack sometimes swooped in and knocked them outta my way and I was able to score the goal! I whooped with glee and high-fived Jack's waiting hand.

"Told ya you'd be fine!" He laughed. I stuck my tongue out at him but I still grinned like an idiot.

"Holy shit, girl!" Angel exclaimed. "You didn't tell us you were a speed demon!"

"_I_ didn't even know that!" I told him and we all laughed.

"Hey, Bobby!" A voice called. We looked over to see some guys coming onto the rink. "Care for a rematch?"

Bobby sneered at them and put his hand on my shoulder. "Fuck yeah! And you better watch out cause my little sister here's a fucking bullet on the ice,"

I could help but grin at that. He called me his little sister? I thought my heart suddenly felt warm.

The guy that called to us just smirked at me. "Yeah, like we need to be afraid of some little girl,"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you kidding me, Bobby? My first game's against a bunch of asshats? Puh-lease!"

All of the guys stared at me and Jack, Bobby, and Angel just busted up laughing while the rest of them just glared at me.

"Alright! Fun's over, bitch!" the guy growled as he skated to the middle and dropped the puck.

I skated over and sneered. "Rather be a bitch than an asshat,"

Like with Bobby, as the guy said three, I whacked the puck away and started zipping to the goal. I didn't even see that dumb look he must have had when I pulled my disappearing act. These guys didn't even get near the puck as I dodged and my team kept them away from me. First goal in and I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

We all were busting up laughing as we walked into the house. Evelyn was on the couch doing some knitting when we all came in.

"I take it we had a good time?" she said with an amused look.

"Hell yes!" Bobby shouted. "Ma, we're keeping her! She's the fastest thing on ice I've seen!"

"Listen, Ma," said Angel. "This guy comes and rams Jack into the wall and steals the puck. Alyss flies in and steals the puck right back and gets it in before he even has a chance to think about,"

"Girl's got skills," Jack amended. I'm blushing and giggling this whole time.

"Well," Evelyn smiled. "Glad to hear you all had a good time," As the guys filed past, she looked right at me and mouthed "Told ya." I just smiled. I really had fun. Sure, I had a couple bruises from falls and getting rammed into the wall but I still felt good. I felt like I was belonging here.

**_Author's Note:_** Hi all! Hope you all liked this chapter. It was pretty fun to write so I hope it's jut as fun to read. Tell me whatcha think! That means REVEIW!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	4. Chapter 4: Memories

**Chapter Four**

**~Alyss~**

_Crack! I screamed. Five second wait. Crack! "Stop it!"_

"_Not until you learn, little bitch!" Crack! I could feel the blood running down my bare back. My arms were numb from being held up for so long and my legs had fallen asleep. Crack! I bit my lip, trying not to scream again but I couldn't help the whimper. "That should teach you to talk back to me. Damn brat, just like your mother. Jason, get her down,"_

_I felt hands skim up my bare sides along my arms up to my wrists which were bound. "Don't worry, sweetheart," a boy whispered into my ear. "I'll make you feel better, if you let me…" I shivered and flinched away from his voice. I could hear the scowl as my wrists were freed. When nothing was holding them anymore, I lowered them to cover my naked front. "Fine, revel in the pain. See if I care," He tossed me a shirt and bra and left, leaving me alone in this dark room. I hugged the clothes tight and cried into them._

I gasped as I woke up. It was still dark out but I could see from the clock that it was about six in the morning. I curled up on my side, pulling the blanket close to me but I didn't dare sleep. I didn't want to hear it again. The crack of the whip as it scarred my back, that old hag's voice, and _his_. His scared me the most. Tear started to form in my eyes and I choked a sob. No, they can't hurt me. Not now, not ever.

Morning light finally came and I hadn't realized I'd fallen back asleep. I stretched and shuffled out of bed. I got dressed and as I pulled on my white and black striped gauntlets with silver studs on each finger, I noticed the pale scars on my wrists. They were thin but long, going from my wrist to halfway down my forearm. Images of broken glass and blood everywhere flashed in my mind. I shook my head and pulled the gauntlets on to hide the scars. I pulled on my converse and walked out, adjusting the shirt to make sure my whole back was covered.

"Good morning," I yawned as I walked into the kitchen to see Evelyn sitting there by herself. Wither I woke up early or the guys slept in later than me on Sundays.

"Morning. Ready to go shopping?"

I froze. "What?"

"Shopping. Listen, I just want to make sure you have everything you need. I know you kids have to fend for yourselves a lot. So, I figured we could go shopping. Just the two of us," Evelyn smiled at that, like it was the most wonderful thing in the world. As much as was getting to like Evelyn, I wasn't up to go shopping. In fact, I hated shopping.

"Well, ya see I'm not a real big shopper but if you really want to…" Her hopeful look got me. I'm such a sucker. "I guess that would be nice,"

She was beaming at me. "Great! We'll just have breakfast and then head out. Maybe we can stop at a bookstore and get you some new books,"

That sold me. I suddenly felt my mouth curve into a smile at the sound of "new books." I'm such a nerd.

* * *

The car ride to the mall was pleasant. Evelyn asked me questions that weren't asked at the last interview. I guess she just wanted to get to know me. Sometimes I'd ask questions about the boys and what it was like to raise them. She didn't give away too much, which I respected, but just enough to get an idea of things. It was interesting to hear about the boy's trouble, so much like my own. Especially Jack's.

"Here we are," She said when we arrived at the mall. I smiled nervously as we got out. We walked right into a random clothing store. It was filled with anything frilly, pink, or just plain girly. Evelyn must have seen the look on my face because she had us turn around and head into a different store. This one wasn't so bad. I still stuck out like a sore thumb in my Goth attire. Evelyn learned not to bring me anything pink after she saw me try to avoid a pink section altogether.

"I know, I'm weird," I said.

She shook her head. "Not weird. Unique. Besides, I don't think pink would look good on you anyways,"

I smiled at that. Shopping continued like that for a while. Sometimes we'd get a few shirts and pants from a store but not a whole lot. Then a Hot Topics caught my eye.

"Could we take a peek in there?" I asked.

She looked, smiled and nodded. I swear that woman never not smiled. We went inside and I felt perfectly at home. I snagged a few pairs of gauntlets that looked kick ass. My eyes wandered over a pair of combat boots that were just stunning. When Evelyn asked the guy for a pair in my size, my eyes grew wide.

"But those are like a million back!" I shouted. True, they weren't that much but they were still expensive.

Evelyn was waved her hand. "It's no big deal. Besides, you need new shoes," She looked pointedly at my beat up old cons. I smiled sheepishly and didn't complain more on the matter. We bought a few more things and Hot Topics then headed out.

"Alright, I think we have enough clothes to last you a while. Now for the books,"

My eyes lit up and a stupid grin plastered itself onto my face. Oh, happy day!

**=Jack=**

Jack was sitting on the couch watching a hockey game when there was a knock at the door. He got up to get the door. A girl about Alyss' age was standing at the door with a box in her hands.

"Is Alyss Cromwel home?" she asked.

Jack shook his head. "Nah, she's out with our mom,"

"Oh! Well, this is the stuff she left at the foster home. Can you give this to her?"

He nodded and took the box. He brought it back inside and went upstairs to drop it off in her room. As he walked into the room, a picture fell out of one of the flaps at the bottom. He put the box on the bed and picked up the picture. It was of a little girl in a pretty blue dress sitting with her mom on the bench. The girl was hugging a stuffed rabbit dressed in a waistcoat. Jack guessed that this must have been Alyss when she was little. He smiled. She looked so damn cute with her big smile and bright eyes. His thoughts wandered to the current Alyss. She still seemed to have that smile but he'd only seen it once, when he and his brothers played hockey with her. Most of the time she seemed distant and out of place, like an outsider looking in. Her eyes weren't so bright either. They always seemed so…sad. Like something was haunting her. He looked back at the picture. This did look like her mother. If he didn't know better, he'd swear they were clones. Maybe her mom died and she feels guilty for it. He didn't really know his parents and he didn't care either. Evelyn was all he needed. But what if that weren't the case? What if he knew them and missed them? Would he be the same or would he be like Alyss?

Jack heard the front door open and closed and put the picture on the bed with the box. He quickly got out of the room and started to head down stairs but was blocked by Alyss, who was carrying a lot of bags.

"Oh! Sorry, I'll get out of your way," She said as she started to back up.

"Hey, it's no problem," he told her. "Lemme help you with that,"

She looked up and smiled. It wasn't like the picture but it did make her face look a little brighter. "Thanks,"

He helped her get the bags over her room. "A girl came by with some stuff from the foster house,"

"Oh, that right! I forgot I still had pictures over there,"

Jack looked a little sheepish as she went in and noticed the picture on the bed. "Sorry. One of them left out as I came in. Whoever closed the box did a shitty job. Couldn't help but look,"

She just smiled at him, albeit a little nervously. "It's okay. Not your fault," she put the bags on the bed and he followed suit.

"How old were you then?" he asked as she opened the box to put the picture back inside.

"Four or five, I think. It was during the summer,"

"You look really cute,"

She blushed and turned away. "Th-thanks,"

"No problem," He paused for a moment, debating on whether to ask her something. "What happened to her?"

She paused. "She died when I was nine. My dad too,"

"What happened?"

Her mouth twitched. "There was a fire. I slept in the attic so the worst I got was some smoke inhalation. They were able to get me out but –" She choked back a sob as a tear fell. Jack reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Alyss," He whispered. He rubbed her back and tried to soothe her as she cried. "I wish there was something I could do,"

She sniffled. "Could you just…hold me? Just for a little bit?" She looked up at him and he nodded. He sat on the bed, pulling her down with him and rocked her as she cried. His heart broke for this girl and he couldn't help but feel the need to make sure she was okay. Jack saw the picture at the top of the box. Some part of him promised he would make her smile like that as much as possible.

**~Alyss~**

That night, just before I went to bed, I took the picture out of the box and placed it on the bedside table. I felt strange after Jack held me. Not a bad strange. I felt _good_. I felt safe. I knew I was starting to get attached to Jack and I knew it wasn't a good idea. But I liked this feeling too much to let it go. I rummaged through the box and found a silver pentagram on a thin chain under all the pictures. I unclasped the chain and put it around my neck. My most prized possession, my mother's old pentagram. It meant so much to me that I was surprised I forgot about it. After last night's dream, I knew I needed the Goddess's protection to get through this. I tucked the pent under my top so the cool metal could lie against the skin above my heart. I prayed to the Goddess that things were turning out okay and went to bed. That night I dreamt of Jack, holding me close like before. This time, I wasn't crying. I was smiling.

**_Author's Note:_** Hey guys! Thanks to all those who reveiwed! They really motivate me into writing :) Hope you guys like this chapter and tell me what you think!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue

**Chapter Five**

**~Alyss~**

Days past and things were looking up, surprisingly. The first day of school (at least it felt like a first since the last time I went I wasn't living with Evelyn) went by in a weird blur. Like, I still remember what happened but it went by so fast I could have I'd just got there when the final bell rang. What I remembered most were the weird looks I was getting. Maybe it was because I was wearing brand new clothes. Or, and this is the most likely, because I came with Jack Mercer. We'd never hung out before (hell, I didn't think he even knew I existed) so I guess it was a slight shock to the general public. Oh well, screw 'em.

In class, Jack sat over by me. Well, correction, he tried to drag me to the back where he always sat while I was in the front. We compromised for the middle. I still wasn't happy when people stole glances at us while the teacher lectured. Oh well. Told Jack I was staying in the front after class and if he was going to cheat off my notes, it's either deal with it or take his own damn notes! He laughed at that. At lunch, I sat in my usual quiet corner with my books and attempted to get work done. I say attempt because I hadn't realized I also had the same lunch as Jack, who just so happened the plop his butt down at my table. I didn't mind though. We talked and it was nice. Glad so see there wasn't going to be any issues between us after the picture. I was scared there'd be a bit of awkwardness, but I guess I had nothing to worry about. Jack certainly didn't seem bothered by my presence and I certainly wasn't bothered by his.

Talking ranged from likes and dislikes to the rumours flying around about the other. I couldn't provide much in the latter department but Jack had a few juicy ones for me. I busted up laughing when he told me he heard someone say I killed someone.

"Dear lord, you come to school in black and everyone thinks you're a terrorist. Jesus…"

Jack laughed at that. "So I take it that's wrong too?"

I nodded. "Very wrong,"

"So where'd that come from then?" I thought about it…and regretted it. "Never mind," he said suddenly. "Guess it's not a good subject,"

I titled my head. How he know that? I asked.

He smiled. "Your mouth twitches when you don't want to talk about something or you're uncomfortable," He touched the corner of my mouth. "Right there,"

I blushed slightly when he touched me. Dear god, I hope he couldn't hear my heart beat speed up! "Oh. I never noticed that,"

"I guess not,"

Hanging around Jack was fun, but it brought attention that I preferred to avoid. Rico, the asshat that I'd being kicking the crap out of since grade school, was starting to take notice of me at school.

"So you and Mercer, eh chica?" he sneered one day as I was getting into my locker. "What'd you do? Use your witchy powers to get him to go out with ya?"

I rolled my eyes. "Go to hell, Rico. I'm not dating the guy, I live with him,"

Idiot looked surprised. "So you're a Mercer now? Man, what'd you do to get that old broad to adopt you?"

"I repeat: Go to hell. Oh, and tell Satan I say hello," I turned and walked away when I felt my hair get pulled back.

"Better be nice to me, chica," He hissed. "Or I might just let slip about you being a _bruja_,"

"Dude, you need brain cells if you really think I'm a witch," _Yank_. Ow, that wasn't smart.

"What'd you say?"

"Is there a problem?" Jack suddenly appeared next to me. He was looking straight at Rico with an unreadable expression.

Rico let go of my hair and stepped back. "No problem here, Mercer. Just saying hello,"

"Funny, 'cause it looked to me like you were threatening my little sister,"

Rico gave me a surprised look. "'Little sister', eh? Wow, chica, you really got this boy train,"

"Bite me," I shot back and started to walk away. Jack walked with me.

"If that guy bothers you, just let me know," He said.

I grinned at him. "No need. Rico and I go way back when I first became a foster kid. He tried shoving me around and I bite him,"

His eyes grew wide. "You did what?"

I shrugged. "It got the message through,"

He shook his head. "Jesus, Alyss, you really do have a temper. So I guess you do get into fights a lot,"

"If the need arises, yes,"

"A girl like you shouldn't be getting into fights. You could get hurt,"

I sighed. "Jack, I've been taking martial arts since I was three and I've been studying reflexology," He gave me a confused look at that. "Ya know, pressure points? I can knock a guy out easy. I've done it before,"

He shook his head again. "You're insane,"

I grinned. "Yeah, I know,"

Like I said, days past and I was getting pretty cozy at the Mercer house. Jack and I would walk to school and home together and help each other with homework. Well, I helped him more than he helped me. Evelyn was real sweet and very nice to me. Hell, she was nice to everybody. But it still felt good to see that there was kindness somewhere. I was really starting to think I jumped the gun thinking that I wouldn't last here.

Apparently, Jack told Bobby about Rico because next thing I know, Bobby wants to see my "skills".

"Just wanna make sure your not just talking smack. I've heard of tough girls and they still cry when they get a broken nail,"

I rolled my eyes. "It does actually hurt when you break a nail if it get's bent the wrong way or too low,"

Jack and Angel just laughed at that.

Bobby glared. "Alright, girly, show me whatcha got,"

I did. I ended up sitting on him because he'd underestimated me and it helped that I had on my combat boots. Jack and Angel were howling with laughter. I was surprised they were still breathing.

"Now, what were you saying?" I asked Bobby.

"Alright, I give. You can kick ass,"

I smirked and got off of him.

Friday came and I was surprised to see a week had gone by since I'd moved into the Mercer house. I'd gotten used to the routine of wake up, get dressed, grab breakfast, walk with Jack, school, walk with Jack again, homework and the hassle my new brothers in between. Sometimes Jeremiah was around to pop in and say hello. He was laughing his ass off when he heard about my little scuffle with Bobby.

"Glad to know someone's here to keep an eye on ya'll clowns,"

The juice that I'd been drinking at the time nearly came out of my nose at that. Rico was still being an annoying little pest. Grant, worst he would do was pulled my hair to look like he had one up on me. His rep was too precious for him to try and fight me and school, which I was grateful for. I hadn't been to detention yet and I wasn't planning to either.

Today though….today was different. Rico did come up and harass me. I'd see him in the corner of my eye and every time he had this look. He almost looked…hungry and it made me shiver. Just find Jack, stick with him and you'll be okay. So I tried that and started to wish I had more classes with Jack. Finally, the last bell rang and it was time to head home. I curse myself for taking Choir last because it put me all the way across the school from the Biology labs were Jack was. I rushed to my locker and fiddled with the combination, making mistakes and having to restart again and again. My hands were shaking so bad. I finally got the door open and hastily put away my binder and my books in my Jack Skellington bag. Once everything was situated, I hoisted the bag onto my shoulder and practically sprinted across the hall. I didn't see Rico anywhere but I had this niggling feeling he was there.

Suddenly, a hand fell over my mouth and I was being pulled back. I kicked and flailed but it was doing nothing but slow whoever down. I felt a knife suddenly appear at my throat. Uh-oh, not good.

"Better play nice, chica," Rico hissed into my ear. "Or I'll slit your pretty little throat,"

"What the hell do you want?" I snarled.

He chuckled. "Just a little fun, that's all. Now, shut up," Rico dragged me to an empty part of the building. Then he shoved me so I was backed against the wall. He started to undo my pants.

"Hey, hey," I whimpered, started to get real scared. "Lay off," I tried to move his hand away only to feel the knife press against the skin of my throat.

"Now, now, chica. I just want to play. No harm in that,"

"Get the hell off of me," I tried to bend my knee so I could kick him away but the asshat put his big feet onto mine, trapping them. I struggled, trying to find a way to get out of his grip. He looked up and leaned forward as if to kiss me. I turned away before he could and ended up getting licked on the cheek. Oh, god. What am I gonna do?

**=Jack=**

Jack was on his way to Alyss' locker when he heard a small whimper. He looked around but no one was there. The place was deserted and he was stuck behind thanks to the fact the teacher held him back to talk about his grade. He started to continue walking when he heard it again and this time he thought he heard someone say "Get off." It sounded like Alyss. Shit. Jack started sprinting in the direction of the voice and found Alyss backed against a wall with Rico on top of her. She looked so scared.

Jack grew livid. He was seeing red as he sauntered over to them, grabbed Rico's jacket and dragged him away from her. Before Rico could turn around and use the knife that was in his hand, Jack was punching and kicking him into a bloody pulp. And he wouldn't stop. He was so furious that he just kept wailing on him until a pair of small arms grabbed his as he was pulling back for another punch. He looked and saw Alyss standing there.

"He's out," She muttered, her voice quiet and a little shaky. "You'll kill him if you keep doing that,"

"What if I want to?" Jack hissed, still pissed as hell.

She shook her head at him. "Let's just go home," He heard a small catch in her voice and sighed. He needed to make sure she was okay before he could do anything to Rico. He dropped the dead weight and left with Alyss. She huddled close to him and he put his arm around her.

Halfway home, she said "Please don't tell anybody," He looked down and saw her pleading look. He nodded, even though he was already planning on getting his brothers together so they could go kill the bastard.

She smiled slightly and they continued their way. When they got home, Evelyn was worrying in the living room.

"Jack! Alyss!" Evelyn gasped and came over to hug each of them. "What happened? Why are you guys so late?"

Before Jack could open his mouth to say anything, Alyss stepped in.

"Sorry, it's my fault. The choir teacher held me back so she could address me about some note issues I seemed to be having. Our song selection's got some pretty high ones there for sopranos,"

Evelyn looked as if she wanted to ask more, but decided against it and nodded. Alyss headed straight upstairs to her room and Jack stayed down. He sighed and went to the couch to work on his homework.

**~Alyss~**

Once I was upstairs and my door was closed, I broke down. I'd been so scared I couldn't believe it. Evelyn must have seen something in my face to stop her from questioning my feeble excuse. I tried to keep as quiet as possible while I sobbed. I went over to my bed and buried my face into the pillow. After a few minutes of letting it out, I took a deep breath to calm myself and wiped away my tears. After getting myself into normal Alyss mode, or at least somewhat normal, I dragged my bag over to the desk and started working on the homework I hadn't finished at lunch.

After a while, there was a small knock at my door.

"Come in," I called and looked up from the essay I was writing on my laptop to see Jack shuffle in with his school stuff.

"Can you give me a hand with the Calculus? I'm stuck,"

I nodded and scooted over on my desk chair so he could sit down next to me. After several minutes of explaining equations to him, I suddenly said "Thank you,"

He looked up, confused at first and then realized what I was talking about. "No need to thank me. Anyone would have done it,"

I shook my head. "Not for me, remember? I don't really get along with anyone but you. I used to be all by myself at school before I met you. All I had was Lexi and she's five," I felt my eyes start to mist over as I thought about what could have happened. What would have happened. "Thank, for everything. It feels nice to have someone there,"

He smiled at me. "Anytime," he whispered, leaning close to touch my forehead to his. I was blushing madly and my heart was racing again. I really did like Jack as more than a friend and not like a brother. Bobby, Angel and Jeremiah were brothers. Jack was…special to me. But I knew better than to think he thought of me the same way.

Suddenly, I noticed he was leaning a little closer, almost hesitantly. Before I knew it, his lips were pressed to mine. I was shocked and without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and was kissing him back. I opened my mouth as an invite and he opened his in return, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I know I should be feeling weird, making out with this guy who was supposed to be considered my brother. But I didn't. I felt so good, like I was glowing. His arms wrapped around me and held me close, his fingers locked into my hair. I broke away for a bit to get some air. He smiled down at me, his breath as ragged as mine. A thought came into my mind and I got up so I could properly sit on his lap, straddling his hips. He looked surprised but grinned back at me as I pulled his face to mine for another kiss. His hands roamed my but he never put his hand under my shirt which I was thankful for. Not because of the little incident but because if he did that, he'd find some scars there that I didn't want anyone to find out about just yet. Especially not him.

I don't how long we stayed up there. I just remember hearing footsteps coming up the stairs and suddenly, we scrambled to get off of each other before Angel came up to tell us dinner was ready. As we went down, I felt Jack reach for my hand and squeeze it gently before letting go so no one knew about us. I felt my heart start fluttering as I sat at my usual seat at the dinner table.

That night, Jack snuck into my room and crawled into bed with me. We just cuddled and made out most of the night before falling asleep in each other's arms. It was the best night I'd had in a very long time.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey guys! Really hope you like this chapter! I know I did :) Please reveiw and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Special Thanks to: LibbyLoo92! Your story inspired this chapter and i just want to thank you for all your help!Thanks!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	6. Chapter 6: Lexi

**Chapter Six**

**~Alyss~**

Jack and I woke up real early in the morning before anyone else was awake. He gave me a quick good morning kiss before sneaking out of my room. Granted, it was just a quick peck on the lips but I still felt dazed from in. I just laid there for a few more minutes before I finally got out of bed. I snagged some clothes from the dresser and shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower. As I took off my pajamas, I noticed my back in the mirror. It was covered in long scars that you'd get from a whip. Images of a dark room and the cracking of a whip filled my mind. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and focused on getting undress so I could take my shower.

I washed and conditioned my hair with Suave Ocean Breeze and washed my body with Moonlight Path from Bath & Body Works. I wasn't a real big fan of really sweet smelling soaps. Just not my cup of tea. I finished showering and dried myself off before getting dressed and blow drying my hair. Once I was all cleaned up and dried, I nabbed my pajamas and headed back to my room to put them away. I shuffled through my room and snagged my bag. After making sure I had everything I needed for the day, book I was reading, notebook, sketch pad, and _Coraline_, I hoisted the bag over my shoulder and headed down for breakfast.

Evelyn was already down there with a bowl of oatmeal. "Good morning, Evelyn," I smiled as I went into the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of cereal.

Evelyn looked up. "Oh, good morning, Alyss. How are you this morning?"

"Fine. I feel great," After last night with Jack, who wouldn't?

Evelyn gave me a concerned look. "Are you sure?"

I sat down across from her. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you about yesterday,"

I froze. Did Evelyn know about me and Jack? Not good! "What about it?"

"Well, you seemed awfully scared when you came home with Jack and I just want to make sure everything's alright,"

Whew! She just wanted to know why we were late? That was a relief. I'd planned to tell her anyways. I looked sheepishly down at my bowl. "Oh, that. Well, I must confess," Evelyn gestured for me to continue. "I lied about us being late. It had nothing to do with choir," I explained to her what happened after school with Rico. It was surprisingly easy. Maybe because that's not the worst that's happened to me. Her eyes grew wide and shocked when I finished.

"Are you okay? I mean, did he do anything to you?"

I shook my head. "Jack came in and saved me before he could,"

She sighed. "Well, that's a relief,"

I bit my lip. "I'm sorry I lied. I just…didn't want Bobby and Angel to hear about it and start up some more trouble. I had to swear Jack to secrecy,"

She nodded. "I understand, sweetheart. Bobby can be a real hot-head and they really are starting to look at you as their little sister. I promise. It'll be our little secret," I smiled and nodded then started chomping on my cereal. Evelyn had a few more bites of oatmeal before asking "So, on another note, what's your plan for today? I see you have your bag with you,"

I swallowed the mouthful I'd be working on and answered "Oh, I was thinking of going to the foster home for a visit. There's a little girl over there that I took care of,"

Evelyn nodded. "Right, you mentioned her at the home. Lexi, right?"

I nodded. "It that okay?"

"I don't see why not? Why don't you take one of the boys with you?" I would have protested, considering this visit would probably bore the hell out of whoever came. But I knew better. She just wanted to make sure I was okay and I wouldn't have another "incident." Actually, it made me feel good that she cared so much.

"Sure, sounds great,"

We continued to eat our breakfast when all three guys shuffled in to grab something eat. Jack snuck a small smile to me and I returned it with one of my own.

"Morning, all," I said pleasantly.

"Morning," said all three of them in unison.

"Hey, I need to make a visit to the foster home in a bit. Anyone wanna join me?"

Bobby shook his head. "Nah, there's gonna be a game on in a few and I got money all the line,"

"Same here," said Angel. "Sorry, kiddo,"

"I'll go with ya," said Jack, smiling at me. "I got nothing better to do,"

Okay, heart, stop swelling or my ribs'll crack. "Sounds great," Please tell me that did not sound too perky.

I finished breakfast, rinsed out my bowl and waited on the porch for Jack. When he finally came out, he took my hand and leaned down to kiss me. I shook my head and pointed at the front door. He understood. Better to be safe than sorry. We walked out and when we were a couple houses away, Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head.

"Morning," he whispered in my ear.

I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Morning. How are we today?"

"Terrific," He replied, grinning. "And you?"

"Never better," I told him, wrapping my arm around his waist.

He smiled and placed his free hand on my cheek to pull my face up to his and kiss me. He pulled back for a second to say "Good."

We walked like that for a while. Quiet and sometimes share a few stolen kisses here and there. It was nice, just walking with Jack. I really had felt like I'd never been better.

"So," he said after a long while of silence. "Why do you need to go to the foster home?"

"Remember that little girl that was holding onto the rabbit for me?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I wanted to visit and see how she's doing,"

He nodded. "What do you plan on doing when you get there?"

I shrugged. "Probably read the rest of _Coraline_ to her. She's dying to hear the ending,"

"Sounds like fun,"

"You sure? You can bail if you get too bored,"

He squeezed my hand. "I'll be fine,"

We got to the home after about twenty minutes of walking. I just opened the door and walked right in. "Hello?" Not two seconds after I said it, a certain blonde whirlwind crashed into me and Jack.

"Yay!" Lexi smiled. "You're home!"

"Kind of," I said as I picked her up. "I'm here to visit at least,"

Lexi held up Rabbit for me to see. "Rabbit missed you. He wants to go home with you tonight. Can he?"

I smiled and looked at the plushie I'd had since I was a little girl. "Yeah, he can come home with me tonight,"

"Yay! Ya hear that, Rabbit? You get to go home with Alyss!"

I smiled and Jack chuckled from behind me. Lexi turned her bright blue eyes to him. "Hi there! I'm Lexi, what's your name?"

"I'm Jack. I live with Alyss,"

"Are you her boyfriend?" I blushed madly and slightly groaned. Leave it to a five year old see right through us.

"Well, yes, but it's a secret," Jack put his finger to his lips to emphasis the point. He then said in whispered tone "Can you keep a secret?"

Lexi nodded, grinning.

I laughed. "C'mon, I brought _Coraline_ with me,"

"Yay!" Lexi clapped with glee as I carried her into the living room.

**=Jack=**

Jack followed Alyss and Lexi into what looked like the living room. They walked straight for an armchair on the corner of the room. Alyss put down Lexi so she could take off the bag and sit in the chair. Once Alyss was comfortable, Lexi scrambled into the chair so she could sit on her lap. Jack sat himself on the couch that was near the chair as Alyss pulled a book out of her bag and flipped through the pages until she was most of the way through the book. As she read, Lexi would either stare up at her or at the page if there was a picture. Jack smiled. He knew she worried about him getting bored as fuck. But true to his word, Jack wasn't bored. If fact, he enjoyed watching Alyss read to Lexi. He saw a part of her he hadn't seen since they'd met. Shit, he doubt anyone had seen this side of her except for Lexi. She seemed so lively and happy and radiant and warm and…He had a hard time finding all the words that described Alyss at the moment but he knew there was a hell of a lot more than that.

Alyss finished the last sentence and closed the book. "The end,"

Lexi's eyes grew round and wide. "That's it?" Alyss nodded. "But what about the hand? Can't it get her?"

She shook her head. "It fell down the well, remember? It can't get her now,"

"But the Other Mother, won't see get her too?"

"Not unless someone opens that door,"

Lexi pondered that for a moment. She had such a serious look to her face to her face, Jack could help but laugh. Then she looked up and stared out the window. "Alyss, look! It's the cat!" They looked at the window to see a black cat wandering about the yard. "It the cat, Alyss! Like the one in _Coraline_!"

Alyss smiled. "Yep, there he is,"

"Can we say hi to him?"

"Hmm, sure, but get your coat on first. It's cold out there," Lexi nodded and leapt off of Alyss. She flew up stairs before either of them could get up. Alyss came up to Jack and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Bored yet?" she asked, looking up at him.

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Not in the slightest,"

She smiled back at him. "Good,"

"I'm ready!" Lexi piped, popping up in a cute purple snow jacket with a hat, scarf and gloves to match.

"Alrighty. Let's go say hi to the cat," Alyss grinned. She was about to pick her up when Lexi shook her head. The little girl stepped up to Jack and held her arms up. Jack looked confused and Alyss snickered.

"She wants you to pick her up," Lexi nodded, agreeing with Alyss.

"Oh," said Jack and he picked up the little girl. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and tucked her head against his chest. Alyss was beaming as she led them to the back door. It was snowing outside. Not hard but just enough for Alyss' long dark hair to get covered in snowflakes. Jack laughed at the sight. She looked adorable.

They crept up quietly to where the cat was washing itself by the wall. After they'd gotten a couple feet away, Alyss motioned for them to stop. Jack did and held Lexi as they watched Alyss creep a little closer. The cat noticed her and stared at her for a moment. She started to crouch down, making "tsk, tsk" noises and holding out her hand to make the cat come.

"Here, pretty kitty," she cooed. "Come here, sweetheart. We just wanna say hi," The cat looked at her and started to creep forward. "That's it. It's okay, baby," The cat came over and sniffed her hand before rubbing his head against her hand. She petted the cat before picking it up and bringing it over to Jack and Lexi. The cat just laid there in her arms without out a care in the world. "Say hi, Lexi,"

Lexi held out her hand so the cat could sniff it before she started petting it. The cat purred like a motorboat as she petted it. Alyss was smiling down at them and so was Jack. It made him happy to see Alyss happy. After a while, the cat started to squirm so Alyss let it go. As they walked back inside, Jack noticed the clock.

"We'd better get going, Alyss. We've been here for a few hours,"

"Awwwww," whined Lexi.

Alyss pouted a little. "Sorry, Lexi. But we'll be back soon,"

"Promise?" Lexi held out her pinky to Alyss.

Alyss smiled and curled her pinky around Lexi's. "Promise,"

Lexi then held out her pinky to Jack. "You gotta promise too, Jack,"

"Oh," He readjusted her so he was holding her with one arm and curled his pinky around hers. "There. I promise,"

Lexi beamed and gave him a peck on the cheek as he set her down. Alyss giggled. The little girl hugged both of them before zipping back to the couch to get Alyss' bag and her rabbit. "Bye, Alyss. Bye, Jack,"

"Bye, Lexi," they both said in unison, which made Alyss blush. They waved good bye and left the home hand in hand, with Alyss hugging the stuffed rabbit close to her chest.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hi all! I hoped you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D It was just so cute to have Lexi around I just couldn't pass it up. The next chapters going to be equally cute but if I don't get reveiws, you ain't reading it! so, REVEIW!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	7. Chapter 7: First Date

**Chapter Seven**

**=Jack=**

Jack and Alyss were walking hand in hand, their fingers intertwined with each others. He looked up and noticed they were passing a park that was empty. Then he got an idea.

"Hey," he said, grinning. She looked up at him. "Let's take a little detour," He nodded towards the park. She smiled and nodded. He guided her over to the swings where she put the rabbit in the bag and placed it off to the side before sitting on a swing. Jack sat in one beside her and started swinging back and forth. Alyss stared at the landscape.

"It's so surreal, all this snow," She mumbled.

"You didn't have snow where you're from?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nah, I lived in the bottom of a freaking bowl. If it snowed, it wouldn't stick most of the time. We might get a day or two a year where there was actual snow on the ground but it was too warm to last very long," She stuck her tongue out in hopes of catching a snowflake but it didn't work. He chuckled at that and tried himself.

"Hey, caught one!" He grinned.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you did. You've got

the biggest tongue I've ever seen!

He laughed and leaned close to her. "What about kissed with?"

A devilish grin appeared on her face. "Oh, definitely. And you know what?" She leaned over to him.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Bigger is much better," She reached up and kissed him, opening her mouth in invitation. He opened his mouth and let his tongue sweep into her mouth and slide against her tongue. She moaned into his mouth has his tongue ring slid coolly against her tongue. They made out like that until the need for air was too great and they broke apart. That devilish little grin was still on her face as she panted. "Definitely better,"

He chuckled then got up and walked up behind her. She looked back confused as he pulled her swing back and then let it go. "What are you doing?" She giggled.

"Giving ya a boost," He replied, pushing her as she came back. "You were sitting still for too damn long,"

She laughed and shook her head but didn't protest. He continued to push her until she was almost as high as the swing would allow. He moved out of the way to keep from getting hit and saw she was smiling widely, like a little kid. It was so adorable he couldn't help but grin like an idiot back at her. She dragged her feet a few times then jumped off the swing. She landed on her feet but fell back and landed on her ass. He went over to check and make sure she was okay. Surprisingly, she was laughing her ass off.

"What's so funny?" He asked, letting out a laugh too.

She giggled a bit before answering. "I feel like a little kid again. Almost how I was before…"Her smile stopped and Jack suddenly regretting asking. He knew she was thinking about her mom and dad and that wasn't a good idea. Then she shook her head. "Well, a long time ago. It's just so carefree. I like it,"

He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad," She cuddled into his side and he hugged her close. It was nice to have Alyss there, enjoying the snow with him. It almost felt like they could stay there forever, snuggling together in this quiet little white world where they were the only inhabitants. No one to hassle them or treat them like shit. Just peace and the girl he loved more than anything in the world.

**~Alyss~**

This felt nice. I wish time would have stopped time would have stopped then so we wouldn't have to go home and pretend anymore. Sad part is time doesn't stop for anyone.

"We'd better get going before they start wondering where the bunnies we are," He snorted at the "bunnies" part and nodded. He got up and gave me a hand.

"I still don't get why you do that," He chuckled.

"Do what?" I asked as I grabbed my bag from over by the swings.

"Use random words instead of cussing. You know it wouldn't hurt ya to say 'fuck' and 'shit' right?"

"I cuss, just not often. Besides, I'm the 'big sister' of a five year old, remember? Have to be responsible?"

He snorted again. "I've been living with Evelyn since I was a kid and being the big brother never stopped Bobby from cussing like a fucking sailor,"

"Yeah, well, that's Bobby. The guy doesn't exactly have a lot of morals,"

Jack laughed and nodded in agreement. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close into his side. "So what did you think of our first date?"

I grinned up at him and kissed him on the lips. "Perfect,"

He smiled and put his hand on my cheek so he could guide my face to his for another kiss, this time a French one. I placed my little hands on either side of his face to hold him there as our tongues played with each other. He flicked his tongue against mine and I couldn't stifle the moan that resulted from it. Holy cats! I'd never had this hot and heavy of a make-out session with any guy before and I've have some pretty steamy ones. Jack knew what he was doing and it was driving me wild. I'd tried the tongue flicking and was happily rewarded with the same response I'd given him.

When we came up for air, he cupped both his hands around my face and rested his forehead against mine.

"I love you," I told him, my voice out of breath. Had I really just said that? It just slipped out.

He smiled that beautiful smile at me and said "I love you, too," We stood there like that for a long time, just holding each other until he tilted his head up to kiss me on the forehead.

"We have to go," He breathed, sounding reluctant to say the words.

I frowned and nodded. We continued walking, his arm around my shoulders while mine was wrapped around his waist. When we were a few houses away from home, we broke apart from each other and stuck our hands in our pockets.

"Finally!" Bobby shouted as we came in. "Where'd you guys go, Antarctica?"

"Sure, looks like it," Angel laughed as I started to brush the snow outta my hair.

"Ha, ha, very funny. You'd be covered in snow too if you had to walk through a freaking blizzard!" I told them as I shed my coat and hung it on the coat hook.

Evelyn came in with some steaming mugs on a tray. "Oh, you're back! Good. I made some hot chocolate if you want to warm up,"

I smiled and happily snagged a nice warm mug before taking a seat on the couch. Jack grabbed one too and sat next to me. I couldn't help but lean against him as we watched the hockey game that was on. That shouldn't be too incriminating right? I mean, I used to use my guy friends as pillows before I moved here. I sipped my hot chocolate here and there, loving the feel of the warm liquid run down my throat and then blossom into this cloud of warmth in my chest. At least that's what it felt like anyway. Soon, I started to notice I was nodding off and put my now empty cup on the coffee table. Not two second later, I fell asleep while snuggling into Jack's side.

* * *

I woke up to the feel of some carrying me up the stairs and the sound of someone singing softly. I knew that deep voice anywhere. I tucked my head against his chest and closed my eyes, listening to his sweet voice. Jack carried me to my room and laid me down on the bed. As he turned to leave, I grabbed his wrist.

"Please stay," I begged quietly. He nodded and I scooted over so he had room to lie down next to me. I cuddled up to him and he wrapped his arms around me, hugging close. He started singing and I sat there listening, loving the sound of his voice. "I didn't know you could sing that good,"

He chuckled. "I have to be good to sing in a band,"

"Oh, I didn't know that,"

"Maybe I'll take you to practice sometime," I nodded. "So, since you're taking Choir, I take it you can sing too?"

I shrugged. "I'm alright, I guess,"

"Can you sing something for me?" I blushed and shook my head. "Oh, come on. I promise I won't laugh,"

"Well…I do know this one song pretty well…" He looked eager and nodded for me to continue. "Oh, alright, but you'd better not laugh!"

He chuckled and nodded.

"Well, hear goes," I took a deep breath then started to sing "Silent All These Years" by Tori Amos.

"_Excuse me but can I be you for a while  
My dog won't bite if you sit real still  
I got the anti-Christ in the kitchen yellin' at me again  
Yeah I can hear that  
Been saved again by the garbage truck  
I got something to say you know  
But nothing comes  
Yes I know what you think of me  
You never shut-up  
Yeah I can hear that,"_

Jack started to rub back as I sang, reassuring me continue.

_"But what if I'm a mermaid  
In these jeans of his  
With her name still on it  
Hey but I don't care  
Cause sometimes  
I said sometimes  
I hear my voice  
And it's been here  
Silent all these years_

_So you found a girl_  
_Who thinks really deep thoughts_  
_What's so amazing about really deep thoughts_  
_Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon_  
_How's that thought for ya_  
_My scream got lost in a paper cup_  
_You think there's a heaven_  
_Where some screams have gone_  
_I got 25 bucks and a cracker_  
_Do you think it's enough_  
_To get us there_

_Cause what if I'm a mermaid_  
_In these jeans of his_  
_With her name still on it_  
_Hey but I don't care_  
_Cause sometimes_  
_I said sometimes_  
_I hear my voice_  
_And it's been here_  
_Silent all these..._

_Years go by_  
_Will I still be waiting_  
_For somebody else to understand_  
_Years go by_  
_If I'm stripped of my beauty_  
_And the orange clouds_  
_Raining in head_  
_Years go by_  
_Will I choke on my tears_  
_Till finally there is nothing left_  
_One more casualty_  
_You know we're too easy easy easy_,"

I looked up at him as I sang the verse, singing to him.

"_Well I love the way we communicate_  
_Your eyes focus on my funny lip shape_  
_Let's hear what you think of me now_  
_But baby don't look up_  
_The sky is falling_  
_Your mother shows up in a nasty dress_  
_It's your turn now to stand where I stand_  
_Everybody lookin' at you here_  
_Take hold of my hand_  
_Yeah I can hear them_

_But what if I'm a mermaid_  
_In these jeans of yours_  
_With her name still on it_  
_Hey but I don't care_  
_Cause sometimes_  
_I said sometimes_  
_I hear my voice  
__I hear my voice  
__I hear my voice_

_And it's been here_  
_Silent all these years_  
_I've been here_  
_Silent all these years  
__Silent all these  
__Silent all these years,"_ I smiled sheepishly at him as I finished the song. "Well? What do you think?"

He kissed my forehead and said "Beautiful. I almost wonder if you're an angel pretending to be human,"

I blushed and kissed him on the lips. "Nah, that's you, Jack," He smiled and started kissing me with more passion. Can't keep away from each other for long, now can we? We kissed like that for a while before Jack snuck back to his room. Good timing too cause a couple minutes after I heard Jack's door close, Bobby came up to let us know dinner was ready. We ate dinner, Jack giving me a reassured squeeze under the table after grace was said. I was confused at first but then I remembered him telling me my mouth twitches when I'm nervous. The whole saying grace still made me nervous even after a week of doing it. Dinner was quiet with bits of small talk. Evelyn asked about our trip to the home, which both of us answered with relative truthfulness. Naturally, we omitted our "date" and the like. Just said the visit was good and the trip was okay except for the cold. Evelyn had an interesting look on her face and I started to worry that you couldn't hide anything from her. But she just said she was glad and dropped the subject.

Jack snuck into my room again that night and cuddled with me under the blankets. There was the occasional make-out session but that was about as physical as it got. Granted, he wasn't wearing a shirt so I couldn't help but run my hands over his muscled chest. However, he didn't try to put his hands under my shirt, which I was very grateful for. The thought of him finding out about the scars on my back scared the crap out me. I just knew he'd look at me in revulsion and regret ever touching me. I loved him too damn much to lose him just yet. Like the night before, we fell asleep in each other's arms.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello all! I loved writing this chapter! Hope you guys love reading it! The park scene and the walk home was inspired by the song "Life is Beautiful" by Vega 4. It's such a sweet song and it describes the love that Alyss and Jack have for each other. At least it does to me. Please let me know what you think and i'll get the next chapter going as soon as possible :)

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


	8. Chapter 8: Just a Dream?

**Chapter Eight**

**~Alyss~**

_I was lying in bed with Jack, cuddling into his side. He lifted my face up to his and starts kissing me. Soon, it's was full-blown make-out session, his tongue playing with mine. I felt his hands start to roam my back and I was suddenly scared as his hands find their way under my shirt. But nothing happens. At least, he doesn't pull back and wonder why my back's all scarred up. No, instead he moved so he was on top of me and started to take off my shirt. I raise my arms to give him a little help. The moment my shirt's off, he started leaving a little trail of kisses from the corner of my mouth, down my throat, my collarbone, all the way down to my breast. His lips kissed the top of it where the bra didn't cover it while his fingers were undoing the clasps in the back. Once the clasp was undone, he slid the straps of my bra down and fastened his mouth onto my breast while his hand came up to cup and massage the other one. I bit my bottom lip to try and stifle the moans that kept coming out. My hands were roaming his back and found the hem of his shirt. I pulled his shirt and he gladly helped me._

_But then the face that's looking down at me with hunger isn't Jack's. It's another boy's face. I suddenly feel that my hands are tied above my head. I'm trapped. The boy just smiles down at me as I struggle and starts trying to undo the button of my jeans…_

I bolted upright in bed, checking everything. My hands weren't tied, my shirt was still on, and Jack was still there, albeit rudely awakened from me sitting up so fast. I'm okay. I'm safe. I'm okay. No one's gonna hurt me. I'm okay. It was just a dream. I'm okay.

"Alyss?" Jack muttered sleepily, sitting up with me. "What's wrong?"

I stared down at my hands, seeing blood I knew couldn't be there. Then my vision when blurry and I was having trouble breathing.

"Alyss? Alyss, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Jack put his hand under my chin to make me look at him. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I-" I couldn't get the words out. I felt the tears fall down my face and realized I was crying. Not only that, I was hyperventilating.

"Alyss? Alyss! Calm down!" He cupped his hands around my face. "Shhh, you're okay. It was just a dream,"

"Just a dream. He can't hurt me. Just a dream. He can't hurt me," I chanted.

"Who can't hurt you? Rico?"

I shook my head and buried my face into his chest, sobbing. He wrapped his arms and rocked me gently, rubbing my back to try and soothe me. I cried for a good long while, until my tears finally dried up and the sobs stopped coming. I took a deep breath and looked up at Jack, who was looking at me with concern.

"Sorry about that," I whispered, taking deep breaths. "I just…"

"Had a bad dream?" he finished for me. I nodded. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

I gulped. As must as I wanted to confess my dream to Jack, I was too scared to talk about _him_.

"That bad?" I just nodded, not trusting my voice. "It had something to do with what happened before you came here, huh?" I nodded. Damn, he was good. "I used to have nightmares, too. Shit, I still do sometimes,"

"Why would you have nightmares?" I asked, confused. Jack have nightmares? Not possible. He looked a little uncomfortable at that. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry,"

"It's okay," He reassured me, giving me a half smile. "I didn't exactly have a cozy life before Evelyn,"

"What foster kid does?" I mumbled. He laughed but there wasn't really any humour in it.

"Anyways, some things happened to me and it still scares me. But then I remember that here I'm okay. None those bastards can hurt me now. And no one can hurt you either,"

I nodded. "I know. It just…it still scares me,"

He tilted my face up to his and kissed me sweetly. "I swear, Alyss. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise," He held my face to make me look at him.

I smiled and whispered "Thank you,"

He smiled and kissed me one more time. "Now, let's get some sleep okay?"

I nodded and lay back down. He lay down with me and wrapped his arms around me to hug me close. My arm and head lay on his chest and I fell back to sleep in no time.

I woke up to find Jack was already gone. I sighed and stretched. The motion made my sleeves pull back a little so my scars could peek out from under them. I glared at the incriminating marks and frowned. I so badly wanted to spill my guts to Jack but how would he take it? I know he said bad stuff happened to him but there was no way it could be as bad as me, right?

I got up and got dressed, making sure all my scars were covered. Then I turned to the new stereo Evelyn got me (well, it was new to me since she got it at a Goodwill. Thing worked great!) and popped in my mixed CD of We Are the Fallen. "I Will Stay" started to play and I couldn't help but start dancing to it. I held my arm up and slightly rotated my hips. Bellydancing was my forte and I loved it. Dancing made me feel alive and unwound me when things were stressed. As I danced, I sang along with the song. I still danced as the song changed to "The Only One," one of my all time favourites by them. Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I looked to see Jack there. He started to dance with me, not provocatively like most guys would do. He held me and swayed in time with my gently rocking hips. I placed my hands on his and twined my fingers through his own. "Sleep Well, My Angel" started to play and I looked into his eyes. I sang to him, holding his gaze the entire time.

"_So, sleep well, my angel. Sleep well, my angel_…" I reached up and kissed him as the song ended. "I love you…" I whispered.

He kissed my forehead. "You are so precious to me. Never forget that,"

I blushed and smiled at that. No, there was no way I could forget.

**=Jack=**

Jack woke up early that morning again and kissed a sleeping Alyss before sneaking back into his room. He lay in bed waiting for Evelyn to shuffle out of her room to go down for breakfast before getting up and dressed. He went over to Alyss' room to see her door cracked open. He peeked to see her dancing and singing along to music that was playing on her stereo. He eased in and quietly closed the door, leaning against it so he could watch her dance. Her back was to him and it didn't seem like she was aware of his presence.

Her movements were so graceful and slow, he was captivated. And her voice…He wasn't kidding when he asked if she was an angel. There was no way a human could have a voice like that. And her dancing? Forget about it. No girl he'd ever danced with ever moved like that.

She raised her arms at one point and her shirt lifted up a little. His eyes bugged out at the sight of scars on the small of her back and it looked like there was more. Lots more. His face turned hard and livid. Who did that to her? What asshole could hurt such a beautiful, sweet, innocent girl like Alyss? The thought made him sick to his stomach.

The next song started to play and he couldn't help but walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. She looked back in surprise but didn't stop singing or dancing. Instead, she put her hands on his and twined her fingers through his. He swayed in time with her hips and held her close. When a song with a gentle piano intro with some subtle violin started to play, she looked up and sang to him. He stared into her dark eyes the whole time, not breaking away for a second. When the song ended, she reached up and kissed him.

"I love you…" She whispered.

He kissed her forehead. "You are so precious to me. Never forget that," And he meant it, every fucking word. She blushed and smiled at that. They swayed a little longer to the music on her stereo. "Who this?" he asked after another song played.

"It's called We Are the Fallen. They're relatively new,"

"Ah, that explains why I haven't heard of them. The music sort of sounds like this one band. What's it called….?"

"Evanescence?"

"Yeah, them,"

She shrugged. "That's because two of the members are from Evanescence. I guess they got fired for some reason. Not too sure,"

"Oh," They continued to dancing like that for a while. Jack thought about the scars he'd seen and he had to fight to urge to ask about them. He wanted so badly to find out who did that to her and hunt the bastard down, but then he remembered how she acted last night from the dream. "He can't hurt me" she had said. Was she dating some guy that beat her? Or had one of the foster parents done it? The idea brought memories of Jack's own torture before Evelyn rescued him. The possibilities were endless and he had to know.

"Alyss…" he muttered.

"Hmm?" she hummed. Her eyes were closed and she was resting her head against his chest. "I…I noticed some scars on your back," She froze and her eyes snapped open. "I just wanted to know, what happened?" Her mouth was twitching like crazy and her hands squeezed hard on his. Shit, he shouldn't have said anything.

**~Alyss~**

Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap… CRAP! He saw! Oh crap, he saw! Damn scars! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I was careless. I should have been more careful. What'll I do? I can't lie, not to Jack. But he will want to see and if he does, he won't want me anymore. But I can't lie. I just can't do it.

"Well, ya see…how do I put this?" I let go of his hands and stepped away from his arms. I hugged my chest instead, trying to hold myself together. "You know how my parents died, right?" He nodded. "Well, when they tried to find relatives for me to live with, they came up blank. I had an aunt but she didn't want to take me in. At first…" He nodded and gestured for me to continue. "So, I went into foster care. Of course, being the little freak that I am, no one wanted me. Then when I was thirteen my aunt shows up wanting custody of me. Why? I have no clue. Probably got asked what happened to her niece and didn't want to look like a bad person. Selfish bitch. Anyways, so I go to live with her and her son, my cousin. Now, Marisa, that's her name, is a Christian woman. A _very_ Christian woman. I, however," I reached up to my collar and pulled out the pentagram I still had on from a week ago, never taking it off except to shower. "Am not. She didn't like that. She tried to take me to church and change my ways. Didn't work. Hell, it actually made me more convinced that Christianity just wasn't for me. I tried to tell her that once and she, well," I fumbled for the right word. "Snapped," I put an arm across my chest to rest my hand on the opposite shoulder and the other hand went to my waist. "She…she dragged me into the basement and…ripped off my shirt and…and tied my hands so she could hang them on the light fixture on the ceiling and grabbed for a whip and…and…" My eyes grew blurry as big, fat tears rolled down my face. Jack came over and gently guided me so I sat on the bed. He sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay," He whispered. "No one is ever gonna do that to you again. She'll never get the chance to do that again,"

I shook my head. "That wasn't the only time,"

"What?" His eyes grew wide and shocked.

I nodded. "She'd whip me for every little thing after that. Bad score on a test, saying the wrong thing or forgetting something. It didn't matter. I was an evil demon that had to be punished,"

"Why the fuck would she do that? You're her niece goddammit!" He looked livid.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I never understood it either. Lots of my friends were Christian and didn't give a crap about my Paganism. They say cross, I say pentagram. They say Christmas, I say Yule. They say church, I say temple. And no matter what, they didn't care. Hell, some even went to temple with me if they could, just to see what it was like. Yeah, I went to church in return but I always hated it. I felt like a poser and that I was disrespecting all these people who devoted their time to God while I didn't have faith in him like they did,"

"Is that why you get nervous when Evelyn says grace?"

"Noticed that, didn't ya?" He nodded. "Yeah, that's why,"

He was silent for a while. I expected any minute for him to walk away and ignore me now. I had baggage and a hell of a lot of it. No one would want that.

"How long did it last?" he asked.

"About till I was fifteen,"

"That long?" I nodded. "What stopped it?"

My face fell and I looked down at my hands. Here it comes, the deal breaker. "Before I answer that, can you promise me something?"

"Anything,"

I gulped and tears started to come back. "Just promise to still be my friend after this,"

He looked confused. "Alyss, what's wrong?

"Just promise. Please," When he nodded, I looked down at my hands and removed the gauntlets I'd put on that day. He gasped when he saw the scars there.

"Holy shit, Alyss. She did this to you, too?" I shook my head. "Then who…" The expression on my face must have made it obvious. "_You_ did this?"

"I wanted it to stop," I told him, my voice cracking. "I couldn't take it anymore, so I tried to end it. My best friend Nat found me in the bathroom with the mirror shattered and blood everywhere. So she called 911 before I passed out. If she hadn't, I wouldn't be here,"

Jack's look of horror was so painful to see I looked back down at my hands. "When I woke up, the doctors told me I wasn't going home with my aunt. They saw the scars of my back and told me that she'd never do that to me again. They were right,"

"I see…" He said. I didn't look up. I just couldn't do it. I'd finally spilled my guts and now it was time to say goodbye to the love of my life. Damn it all to hell.

He was silent for a long time and then he got up. I waited for him to leave but he surprised me by sitting in front of me. He took my hands and kissed my scars. What the hell? He rested his cheek on my arms and I saw he was crying.

"Jack?" I said, leaning over.

"I am so sorry, Alyss," He breathed, his eyes closed. "I had no idea…You've been through so much shit, I can't believe it," I could have swore I heard his voice catch a couple times. What the bat bunnies from hell?

"You're...you don't hate me?"

He opened those beautiful blue eyes and stared at me. "Why the fuck would I hate you?"

I bit my lip. "I've got baggage a mile high. No one ever wants to deal with that. Hell, even some of my friends stopped talking to me after that,"

His expression changed from confused to pissed off. "Are you fucking serious?" I nodded. "How can they when you couldn't even control what was going on?"

I shrugged. "No one wants to deal with a kid that attempts suicide. Simple as that,"

Now he was livid. He took his hands and grabbed my face so he gently pull it more to his level. "I will never do that. I swear to you, Alyss. I love you so goddamn much,"

My heart fluttered when he said that and now I was crying tears of pure joy. He loved me? Even after he'd seen all my scars and heard the stories? I cupped his face with my hands and kissed him with every ounce of passion I could muster. He returned the kiss with equal passion. Next thing I know, I found myself lying on the bed with him on top of me. His hands found their way under my shirt, gently skimming over my scars. Soon, we started to play out the intro to my dream but it was still Jack who came down and kissed me after his shirt was removed. We made love that morning, with protection of course (Funny how condoms are always hiding in guy's jeans like pocket change). Before anyone would notice, we got dressed and Jack snuck back to his room. I snagged a book I was reading from my desk and sat on the bed to read. I pinched myself just to make sure I was awake and all that hadn't been a figment of my imagination. Ow! Nope, not fake. I couldn't help but smile at myself. It wasn't a dream after all.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey guys! Really hope you guys enjoyed this! I changed the rating to "M" just to be safe. When i started this, i wasn't too sure how far i'd go rating wise. Granted, this is gonna be as smutty as i get;s, i still wanna be safe. Hope you guys enjoy. Please reveiw!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now


	9. Chapter 9: Puppy Love

**Chapter Nine**

**=Jack=**

Jack played his guitar in his room. Sometimes he'd think about what happen that morning and he smiled. Whenever he had a girl, it was just sex. With Alyss, it was…different. More. He'd never loved anyone like this and he enjoyed it. She was so sweet and innocent, he wonder why the hell she wanted him. He was the "first-class fuck up, third-class rock star." But for some reason, she loved him and that's all that mattered.

He thought about her scars and he started seeing red. How could anyone do that to their own family, no matter what? That poor girl had been through hell and back. Shit, she even tried to kill herself! Jack shook his head. He'd been through his own shit in the past but never like that. He could understand the feeling somewhat. All alone. Scared that you'll get hurt again if you fuck up anything no matter how little. He'd been there but his scars were in his head, not imprinted on his skin. How long had she been hiding them? At least since she got to Detroit. That was for damn sure. She always had something covering her back and her wrists no matter how warm it got. He couldn't believe it. She'd always been upbeat, even though she did keep to herself most of the time. It was hard to see that she had all this shit going on without seeing the proof of it.

He heard Evelyn call for them to come down for lunch and put away his guitar. He'd keep her safe. He owed her that. He left the room and thumped downstairs, hearing Alyss rummage in her room. Jack got down there to see everyone gathered around the table, even Jerry. And they all were staring at him.

"What?" he asked as he sat down at the table. Bobby had a big, smart ass grin that was really starting to tick Jack off. "What?"

"Have a good morning?" His brother asked politely.

Jack shrugged, trying to play off indifference. "Have this song I'm working on but it's just not coming together right,"

Smart ass grin got bigger. "Uh-huh, and that wouldn't have to do with fucking a certain girl would it?" Evelyn gave Bobby a stern look at the swearing. "What? It's the truth,"

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, getting really pissed off.

"Oh, c'mon! Quit playing dumb!" Bobby laughed. "I heard you two up there! Had to actually put my ear to the door to make sure but I heard you,"

Jack's eyes grew wide. "What the hell were you doing at Alyss' door?"

Bobby shrugged. "Ma needed someone to run errands. I didn't wanna do it. Angel didn't want to do it, so I went to look for you two. You weren't in your room so I figured you were hanging out with Alyss in her room. Turns out you were banging instead of hanging.

Evelyn reached over and smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be crude,"

Jack hung his head in defeat. "Shit…"

Angel laughed. "Oh, c'mon, Jack, it's not like we didn't know something was going on!"

Jack looked up at him. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Jack," replied Jerry. "You two have been practically attached at the hip since she got here. It was only a matter of time,"

Evelyn smiled sweetly at Jack and patted his hand. "I think it's wonderful that you two are together. She's good for you. Better than any of the other girls I've seen you with," He nodded sheepishly. "Granted I don't exactly approve of you having sex up there but it's not entirely my say. Just remember to use protection please?"

He nodded. "She won't without it,"

Evelyn chuckled. "Smart girl,"

Jack heard small thumping noise and someone humming as they came down the stairs and into the kitchen. Speaking of which…

**~Alyss~**

I was engrossed in my book (and the occasional stray thought) when I heard Evelyn call for lunch. I put my bookmark in the book to hold my place and placed it on the nightstand. After getting up from the bed, I adjusted my shirt and gauntlets, checking to see how high I could raise my arms before my shirt lifted up. Then I shrugged a couple times to see how I could avoid lifting my shirt. After I finished checking myself repeatedly, I headed downstairs with humming to the tune of "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. I slowed my footsteps as everyone suddenly looked up at me.

"Ooookay, why does this look like an intervention?" I asked. My mouth was probably twitching pretty badly.

Bobby shook his head. "No intervention. Just wanna talk,"

"About?"

Jack sighed. "They know,"

I blanked. "They know what?" I asked slowly, nervous about the answer.

"About us,"

My eyes widened. "What? How! When?"

"Bobby went looking for us and…heard,"

"Frig," I muttered and hung my head.

"Hey, it's no big deal!" Jeremiah assured me.

I looked up and noticed no one had a grossed-out look. Actually everyone was smiling, other than Jack's sheepish one. "You're not bothered?" I asked.

"Nope," replied Angel.

"I think it's adorable, you two together," said Evelyn.

"I do have one concern," said Bobby. Oh boy, here it comes. "You do realize you just fucked a fairy, right?" _SMACK!_ Go, Evelyn!

Jack rolled his eyes. "Bobby, for the last time, _I'm not gay!_"

"Sure, you are," He grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "You just won't admit it,"

I sighed and went over to sit by Jack. "Okay, Bobby, knock it off before I reach over and smack you,"

Bobby snorted. "I'd love to see you try,"

"Uh, Bobby," said Angel. "She did knock you on your ass,"

I grinned. "Exactly,"

Bobby glared. "Shut up,"

"Never," I stuck my tongue out. Jack laughed and grabbed my hand under the table to give it a squeeze. I smiled at him. I guess I didn't have to worry about our relationship, did I?

* * *

A week or so past and it was getting close to Christmas. I was scrambling for Christmas presents for my family, a feat I could actually accomplish thanks to all the babysitting I did for Jerry. Daniela and Amelia were so dang cute! Even when they did make me play dolls with them (like I said: Barbies I can handle). Jack and I were inseparable. Before school let out for winter break, we were together every chance we got at school. Sometimes we'd sneak into a broom closet and make out for a bit before class started. Hey, the guy's an awesome hisser. Could I really help myself? He always escorted me to class no matter late it'd make him. A lot of times he'd half to run to class just to get there before he was officially late. When break started, we were always together unless I was Christmas shopping.

Every other day I'd visit Lexi and Jack would come with me. She really started to like him and Jack seemed to have a soft spot for her too. Sometimes, she'd sit in Jack's lap on the couch while I read. This time I was reading _The Graveyard Book_ since she loved _Coraline_ so much. Jack looked confused at her creepy choice, until I started reading and he realized how cute it was. I busted up laughing at the surprised look on Lexi's face when it mentioned "the man Jack" even though he was a villain.

"I didn't know you were in a book, Jack!" she piped.

Jack was about to play along and brag about it but I made a slashing motion across my throat with my hand. "He's the villain!" I mouthed.

Jack nodded. "Actually, that's someone pretending to be me. He's not very nice," I gave him the thumbs up and continued reading.

Days past and Christmas was creeping around the corner. I'd gotten something for everyone except Jack and I was hauling tail to find something. I had to find something good, to show him how much I loved him. Come on, give me something to work with here. Then I found it. The perfect gift for Jack. I grinned and bought it right then and there, getting it all wrapped up to sort of hide it just in case. Evelyn had gone with me that day but she was still shopping. So I made my purchase and went to the car to put it there. Outside the store, a woman was sitting there with a box that said "For Sale." I heard the whimper of puppies and tried to walk right past her without looking into the box. Unfortunately, one of them popped up their head and barked playfully at me. It looked like a grey wolf pup but its tongue was blue. It also had one blue eye and one brown. Frig, I'm lost. I looked over at the little pup and smiled.

"Hey, there, little guy," I grinned as I came over. "Do you mind if I pet him?"

The woman just smiled. "Go ahead, dear," I happily came over and knelt in front of the box. There was only one pup, the one that practically called me over. "He's the last one, dear. I hope someone'll take him in soon. I can't,"

I winced as I petted the puppy who looked as happy as can be to have me there. Oh, frig.

"There you are, Alyss," Evelyn was shuffling out of the store with her purchases.

"Hey, Evelyn," I said weakly.

"What have you got there, Alyss?" She came over and saw the little pup. "Aw! How sweet,"

The woman smiled. "Your granddaughter's been keeping him company. I'm surprised she hasn't asked for the price,"

"Well…I would," I amended. "But I don't think I could keep him,"

Evelyn looked at me and then at the little puppy. "How much?" she asked the woman. WHAT?

"Well, I had them going at a hundred and fifty a piece, but I was thinking of letting him go for free. No one seemed to want him 'cause he's the only wolf-like one in the litter,"

My eyes bugged out and I stared at this poor puppy in horror. How could no one want this little guy?

"Is he trained?"

"Yep. House broken and everything. He's got his shots and he's neutered too,"

"Great, we'll take him!"

I looked up at Evelyn and a huge smile spread across my face. "Oh my god, thank you so much!"

Evelyn smiled. "I didn't think I could tear you away from him. Besides, he seems to love you to pieces," She was right. The little guy was all over me and he wouldn't let up. He was so just happy as if he understood he was going home with me. I grinned.

"Alright, let's get these in the car and we'll head to a pat store to get all his stuff, okay?" I nodded and picked up me new little companion.

"Ya hear that, Fenris? You're coming home with me!" I hugged him close and he licked my face. I turned the woman. "Thank you so much,"

She shook her head. "No, thank you. You've saved me the heart ache of taking him to the pound,"

In my head, pound was dog for foster care. That hit a nerve and I hugged my little Fenris tighter.

We went to the pet store and got everything he'd need: bed, dog bowl, collar with his name and address on the tag, leash, food. I even got him a little doggie toy that he seemed to love already. It was a stuffed bat that squeaked. I thought it was too cute and so did Evelyn. When we got home, I put Fenris down and told him to stay as I started unpacking everything. He sort of listened. He stayed close to me feet as I went in. Least he didn't go wandering around.

None of the boys were home so I took my chance to take Jack present and hide it upstairs in my room. I hid it under the bed with the other presents, thankful that my blanket hung low enough to hide them from view. Fenris followed me and hopped onto the bed.

"Stay, Fenris," I told him and put my hands up to emphasis the point. "Stay," I backed out of the room and headed downstairs to help Evelyn. Fenris stayed in the room.

Just as we were bringing back in the last bag, Bobby's Cutlass and Jerry's Volvo came up. They're here. "Hey, sis, whatcha got there?" Bobby shouted as they all piled out.

"Stuff!" I told him as I went inside. They all came in and sitting right there on the dining table was a big bag of dog food waiting to be put away.

"What the fuck is that?" Bobby asked, pointing at the bag.

"Your dinner," I grinned. "Hope you're hungry," the other guys roared with laughter.

Evelyn poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hello, boys. Alyss, why don't you call down our new member of the family,"

"Fenris!" I called then made kissing noises. "Here, boy!" Quick as a blink, Fenris came sprinting from my room and ended up at my feet. "Good boy!" I grinned at him and reached over to open his bag of treats so I could give him one. He loved it!

"Oh, hell no!" Bobby shouted as I picked up the puppy. "He is not staying!"

"Yes, he is, Bobby," Evelyn told him. "Poor little guy would gone to the pound if we hadn't taken him,"

"Besides, think about it, when he gets big, he'll be the best security system in Detroit! How many burglars are going to rob us if they find a monster sized wolf snarling at them?"

Jerry nodded. "She's got a point,"

Bobby sighed. "Ma, you really gotta stop bringing in these strays. I thought Alyss was the last one,"

I stuck my tongue out. "Bite me, Bobby,"

Jack came over and let Fenris sniff him before petting him. "What's his name?"

"Fenris," I said proudly. "It's the name of a Norse wolf god,"

"Weird name," Angel muttered as he came to say hello too.

"Oh, c'mon! How many people have 'Alyssanna' as a full name?" Again, laughter. Fenris looked pleased as punch to be surrounded by everyone. It made me happy to see him so perky. He liked everyone, especially Jack. The moment I put him down, he started running around both our feet. At dinner, he sat perfectly still in between me and Jack, just waiting for one of us to drop something. I snuck him a piece once in a while and he was a good boy about it.

Fenris followed me upstairs when it was time for bed and lay down in his new doggy bed at the foot of mine with his little bat toy. Jack snuck in and cuddled with me again that night and I was thankful Fen didn't start barking when he came in. The little guy was trained good!

At one put, I felt a little something crawl into bed and snuggle in between Jack and me. I looked up to see Fenris curled up between us and I couldn't suppress a giggle. The movement must have woken Jack too because I heard him chuckle.

"Doesn't leave you alone does he?" He smiled.

I grinned. "I brought him home when no one else would. I took him in even while no one wanted him 'cause he's different,"

Jack looked at me and kissed me on the forehead. "Sounds like you're talking about someone else, not Fenris,"

I half smiled. "Maybe I am,"

"I love you," he told me before kissing me sweetly.

"I love you too," I whispered back and kissed him. Fenris made a small whimper and looked up at me with those big puppy eyes, as if to say "What about me?". I grinned and kissed the top of his head. "I love you too, baby boy. Momma will always love you," He barked playfully and licked my face to death, showing how much he loved me too. Me and Jack both laughed. Things were so complete. I had a family that loved me. I had the love of my life. I got to see my "little sister" all the time. And now, I had a new little companion. I really did have it all. Funny how it loves to crash and burn.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hi all! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Mine was quiet but nice. Hope you all like this chapter! I might be wrong about Fenris being a Norse god, so i apologize. If you're wondering what Alyss bought Jack...well, i actually don't know that yet! ^o^" if any of you have any suggestions, feel free to pm them to me or put it in a reveiw. I'll give you credit for the idea in the author's note if your's get's picked. If you have any suggestions for the other guy's present, feel free to share them too :) Please tell me what you think and i'll post real soon.

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!


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